I test rode the Trek Portland this weekend, and figured I'd share my observations. I am just beginning to look for a new commuter, and the Portland was the only thing even close to what I'm looking for that the LBS has in stock presently. I am really interested in a true touring bike, which I believe will be a better fit for my 19 mile each way commute. I went into the Portland test ride dubious of the ride an aluminum frame would offer, but interested to check out the disk brakes.

First, it took the tech at the LBS 15 minutes of fidgeting with the rear brake just to ready the bike for the test ride. This was not a good sign. I got the seat height adjusted about ride, and headed out. The first thing I notices was that the ride was pretty smooth. The front fork really did seem to smooth out the ride. The brakes, however, were really mushy. I found that I could bottom out the rear brake without locking the wheel, and felt that the braking effectiveness was not very good at all. When I got out of the saddle and starting hammering, I could hear the front brake make contact with the pads when I was torquing the bars. I'm sure that these are adjustment issues, but after the tech spent fifteen minutes on them before the ride, I get the impression that these will be constant adjustment issues. That's not something I want to deal with in a commuter. I also had trouble with my heel hitting the crank arm and chain stay, but I chalk that up to riding in sneakers on the platform side of the pedal. With clipless shoes, that probably won't happen. The cheap-o fenders look like they would hit my toe when the bars are turned, but again those fenders wouldn't last long anyway. Net result is I don't think the Portland is right for me, so I shortened the test ride to just a couple miles and brought it back.

Next up, I would really like to ride a good steel touring bike. Alas, the Trek 520 hasn't been available for months, and won't be until late December according to the LBS. And, the same LBS only sells Surlys by special order. And they are the one shop in my area with a Priate flag on the Surly website. So, I think my test riding will be on hold until some point in the winter when the roads are good enough for an adequate trial, and there are some good bikes in stock to try out. I am also looking for a shop that might have an LHT in stock to test out too.

Anyway, that's my .02.

Sounds more like an incompetent tech as avid BBRD and BB7 brakes are some of the easiest to setup and maintain.

Given the previous great experiences with the Trek Portland by others on this forum I'd be inclined to find a better bike shop, take your own shoes and pedals along and go for a 15-20min test ride, i.e., even if that means a few return trips to get things re-adjusted for fit.

The 2009 520 is a totally different design. Now sloping top tube. Looks sweet tho. I'd not write off the portland though, I have a 4300 Disc MTB and I love the discs on it. They took some tweaking to get right, but once they were they rock. I suspect a lame tech in your case. . The Portland is still on my short list. I wanted a Poprad disc (Lemond) but alas, I waited too long.

-R

Is it an '08 or an '09 Portland. I noticed that they dropped the specs on the '09 and left the price the same. The brakes are not bb7's anymore.

Disc brakes take a while to seat. They are soft at first and then the feel gets better and better as they wear in. Mine are great and feel the same in wet and dry.

For the rest of the bike. I love mine. Smooth and comfortable for my 29 mi RT. AND, stiff enough that I can hang with the 'roadies' that I may see along the way. As with any new bike; I adjusted and re-adjusted for a month before I got the fit just right, but, I love this bike. I could not be happier with it as a year round commuter.

The day I picked it up, I bought full SKS P35 fenders and fitted it with Tubus Vega rack. I can't feel the load in my panniers, ever. Its just like the rack was built with the frame.

When I was looking I could not find an LBS in 50Mi with one in stock. I took the leap and ordered one and bought it sight-unseen. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I test rode a Portland and had exactly the same problem. I have large feet, and I don't want to wear special shoes just to commute. This seemed like such a basic flaw that I assumed it was a problem unique to the poor setup of the particular bike I was testing, but I guess not.

I am very happy with my touring bike (2006 Trek 520). If your Trek dealership isn't able to sell you one, have you considered a touring bike offering from Cannondale, Fuji, or Jamis? The Jamis Aurora always gets rave reviews around here.

Inept tech. I run BB7s on my commuter, and have zero issues. The initial setup took less than 15 minutes, the braking is solid and controlled, and no adjustments need to be made. These are the most maintenance/trouble free brakes I've ever used.

Discs have their other inconveniences, but (at least with mechanical discs) set up and maintenance are certainly NOT on that list.

The tech is clueless. I installed a set of Avid BB7s on my bike last fall, just on the front. I'd honestly never touched disc brakes before for a bike, only seen pictures. It didn't take me 15 minutes to INSTALL and adjust them, let alone just adjust them.

All told they are much less work to maintain than rim brakes.

My Jamis Aurora is a steel touring bike, although it doesn't come with fenders and rack, gotta buy those seperately if you want 'em. (but it also costs less than the Trek 520) I've had it for a few months now.. I LOVE it.

I owned a 2008 Portland for about a month and sold it. This will be the last Aluminum Trek I ever own. I've had 3 of them and they have all rode harsh. The only Aluminum bike I've ever owned that actually had a great ride was my current commuter which is a 2006 Specialized Tricross Comp.

I did have a Trek Pilot 5.0 which was carbon and rode great.

I'd have to agree with others about the tech. The brakes on my Portland worked very well.

Worst case, some of the Madison shops stock Surly. I've seen Long Haul Truckers on the floor over at Willy Bikes.

When I was bike shopping, I found it was better to just go to the shop and tell them what I wanted. Usually the salesperson would get rather bug eyed, and then calm down when they realized I *knew* that I was asking impossible things, and was willing to compromise to get a good enough bike. (the totally dumbfounded look is pretty obvious, and would send me off to another shop... ran into it when we were shopping for my sister's bike)

Have you considered these?

https://www.rivbike.com/products/list...product=14-053

The Portland I rode was an '08. Not sure what model the brakes were. Like I said, it wasn't what I was initially looking for, but it was the closest the LBS had to a decent commuter so I gave it a shot. I will keep looking around for shops with LHT's (and perhaps the Jamis), but I haven't been too impressed with bike shop selections of touring bikes around here. I did find one shop 2.5 hours away, which currently has a bunch of LHTs in stock, but that's quite a haul. I think I'll wait until I have the $ in hand, then make the trip so that I can buy it if it turns out to be what I want. I will check out Willy's though, which would sure be closer. (Thanks, Torrilin).

If you like discs, and you want a touring bike, the Kona Sutra may be worth a look. Good luck finding one in stock though.

Useless tech at the bike shop. BB7's can be set up in 10 mins total front and rear out of the box.

Avis BB7s are better brakes than even the best rim/pad/cantilever combo IME. But I alos know that coming from always using rim brakes, it took me a littl ebit to figure out how best to set hem up, which was likely the problem.

I'd check out the Raleigh Sojourn. A bit lower specs than the Portland, but it has BB5s AND a steel frame. If I were on the market for a touring bike right now, that would be near the top of my list.

I agree that the tech is the problem.

Had the one-year anniversary with my Portland last week. 4,600 trouble-free miles. I still can't believe I own such a nice bike.

I looked at the Portland when I bought my commuter, but the new models weren't available yet. In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't get one. The front fork and rear stays aren't wide enough to put Nokian snows on, at least that's what I got when I talked with Trek recently. I've been considering an upgrade to disk brakes so I don't have to worry about iced rims thi swinter, but I can't retrofit disks onto the Trek XO1.

Maybe someone else has fit the 34mm Nokian snows onto a Portland, but it didn't sound like they would fit when I was talking with Trek.

First: I have Avid BB7 disc brakes on my full-time commuter bike. I have full Dura-Ace on my Trek road bike and the feel of the brakes is pretty close, but the discs win for all the usual advantages, plus they require less force on the brake levers for the same braking performance. Now if I could just afford electronic Dura-Ace for my drive train. Mmmm.. But I digress.

As a rule, I don't let very many mechanics touch my bikes anymore - and I'm sponsored by my LBS. I like to adjust my brakes especially so I get the right mix between not rubbing and adequate braking power and brake lever play.

I had a similarly bad experience the first time I tried a road-disc bike out. For whatever reason, the brakes on this bike howled like a banshee whenever I slowed. I've heard similar noises coming from mine during a rain storm, but when it's dry or slightly raining, they're normal. I also didn't notice much braking power coming out of the discs I demo'd, so I'm assuming those calipers had oil or something similarly annoying on them. I later demo'd a couple of MTBs with disc brakes - one hydraulic, the other mechanical and said - this is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and bought my current commuter bike. For me it goes along with no such thing as too bright of a headlight.

I got my Trek Portland early this year. Overall, an awsome bike. No troubles so far. However a few things that you might want to note depending on how important they are to you --

- It wouldn't take any kick stands.
- The factory fenders are not so great. Especially the front one WILL keep hitting your feet when you turn the handle even a little bit (actually it is a bit dangerous)
- If you go ahead and replace factory fenders with some good ones from market, they will take up the eyelets on the fender for front racks. For me, I dont need front racks, but if you are touring, and need front racks, it might be something to note. I am not sure if it is possible to share those eyelets by using longer bolts though ..
- Disc brakes are pretty awsome, but not sure if you really need so much of brakes riding on roads ..

All that being said, I LOVE my bike

Nokian Hakkapeliitta W106 in 700x35 fit my Portland just fine--with full fenders. (The 42mm ones would be too close, I think)

Cannondale has a really nice touring bike for 2009. It does have an aluminum frame however, and in the LBS here, it was $2000.00.

I know it is not in the class of some of the other bikes listed, but I ended up getting a Windsor Touring bike from Bikes Direct.
It had everything I wanted in a touring bike and was much less expensive then some of the other brands. It has a steel frame, drop bars and gears ranging from 32/35 to 52/11.
I know the components are not all "high-end", but I have put several hundred miles on the bike (30 mile RT commute) and I love it. I manage my commute on the Windsor in the same (or less) amount of time I used to, riding my Cannondale road bike...and I do it more comfortably.
My .02 worth...

Even with cyclocross brakes which are designed for mud and dirt, there is a significant loss of braking when the rims are wet (commuting in the rain). I have to believe that the discs would be much better under wet conditions, let alone during the winter with potential icing of the braking surfaces.

I'm looking for a fairly light, rainworthy commuter with discs and the Portland is on my short list. Being a small guy, I'd consider substituting a set of 559s on it as I like the improved acceleration and reduced chances of toe overlap with the smaller wheels, especially with fenders added. Has anyone tried this? Any wheels worth considering?
Thanks.

You'll probably hit your pedals on the ground.

The Portland seems like a really nice bike, but too expensive for me and I don't trust those wheels, so i got a Kona Jake, best bang for the buck IMHO.